


nearly there

by lunarcrowley



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Almost First Kiss, Cheesy, Devotion, F/F, Friendship, Hope, I am such a lesbian for Liara, I love Joker sm, Liara just being her perfect wonderful sexy self, Longing, Mass Effect 1, New Relationship, One-Shot, Peril, Prose re-write of an actual scene, Renegade Shepard - Freeform, Sexual Tension, Useless Lesbians, but aren't we all?, butch shepard, femme liara, i think i got a little carried away, impending doom, space lesbians, they have big gay crushes on each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:35:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22044196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarcrowley/pseuds/lunarcrowley
Summary: A prose version of that scene in ME1 where Joker interrupts.
Relationships: Female Shepard/Liara T'Soni
Kudos: 20





	nearly there

**Author's Note:**

> another little mass effect drabble i wrote years ago that i'm pulling out now. i still am very emotionally invested in this shit y'all. liara is forever #1 space babe.

Shepard kneeled in front of her locker, forearm braced against the cold metal surface. Her hand made a fist. She couldn't believe this. Forced down by the Council, all for believing in the truth of the threat to the universe. Grounded. Her beautiful, incredibly capable ship - the only one that could save the galaxy and all life in it - and its power had been seized from her. By the ambassador for her own species, no less. 

She heard someone approaching and turned her head to look. She was so disgraced she hardly cared about her attitude, about being stalwart and true. It was Liara. Shepard turned her body and flopped down on the ground by the lockers, her back propped up against them as she slid down the surface. She just sat there, powerless, an arm over her knee. 

"Commander," Liara began, hesitant. Her hands were clutched behind her, like she did when she was anxious. "Shepard. I cannot believe they did this to you." 

Even as Shepard felt her limbs going slack with defeat, the asari's soft, gentle voice reached out to her. Just the sound of it coaxed away some of the harshness in her mind.

"It's not your fault," Shepard assured her, her eyebrows coming together as she shook her head. She let out a soft sigh, her closely-shaven head leaning back so she could meet Liara's round sapphire eyes. 

Liara tried not to let her gaze find Shepard's exposed throat, the spires of her collarbone. She worked to remain focused, to restore her leader's drive. "It's not right! You did everything they asked, and more. Nobody else could have done what you did!" Liara proclaimed, a passion rising in her tone. "The council owes you everything. Everything! Instead they strip you of command and ground the Normandy." There was a sadness in her delicate face.

Shepard bit the inside of her lip for a moment, her expression grave. This wasn't only a matter of personal shame; it was an endangerment to all civilization. "I don't care if they ground me. But they refuse to go after Saren. If they don't stop him from finding the Conduit, we're all dead." She shook her head again. This couldn't be the end of this. But what could she do?

"Perhaps we could appeal, and get them to reverse their decision," Liara suggested. She looked the smallest shred optimistic, and it was almost enough to convince Shepard that there was hope. Almost.  
"I pushed them as hard as I could. They wouldn't budge," She replied bitterly. She had tried every argument, and yet the Council had shut her down and taken her things as if she were an insolent child in need of punishing.

"So you're going to walk away?" Liara asked, incredulous. "You would just give up and doom the entire galaxy to extinction?" Her eyebrows rose. Disappointment seeped into her features: she knew her leader was stronger than this, that she took orders from no one but herself.

"We're out of the game for now," Shepard admitted. "But I'll find a way back in." Her shoulders squared with determination, and there was no doubt that she meant what she said.  
Liara smiled the smallest smile, her faith resurging. This was why she was so drawn to this woman. "I believe in you, Shepard. I am with you every step of the way," she said, an unmatched reverence in her voice. 

Shepard's heart skipped a beat, the way it always did when Liara spoke so fondly. The asari offered her hand, and Shepard took it. She pulled her to her feet - and to catch her balance, Shepard's hand flew to Liara's shoulder. They stood suddenly in a muddled embrace, their faces closer than they ever had been before. 

They looked at one another. Liara studied her: she could see the ridges of the wide scar across Shepard's golden-brown nose, the depth of her whiskey-colored eyes, the indent of another battle mark across her full, mauve lips. Shepard could see every speckle on Liara's soft blue skin, the curve of her purple mouth. The cute way her brow furrowed when she was thinking too hard. She was so beautiful, unlike any person Shepard had ever known before. The alien factor was more fascinating than off-putting. It was incredible to hear her speak, especially about history and science. She was a true scholar; and her cleverness was barely matched by the depth of her compassion. 

Liara had said that although they shared a mutual connection and feelings that seemed only to blossom in every instance of aloneness, the mission was more important. Stopping Saren and saving the galaxy was more important. Shepard understood, but she didn't like it. Either of them could die at any moment, time was always running out and they were always in danger. She had reluctantly agreed to focus on the situation at hand before tangling herself and the asari in anything that would bind them beyond companionship. But in this ephemeral, inevitable moment, a time of decision and duty and blinding valor, neither of them seemed to care for that previous agreement. They had never done this before, as much as they both ached for it.

Shepard leaned in, feeling Liara's warm exhales against her face. Liara waited a moment, until she was drawn in as if by magnetism, both nervous and certain at the same time. Shepard felt a blazing in her chest, her breathing accelerating with each inch she closed between them.

"Sorry to interrupt, Commander," Joker's voice came in loud over the comm. 

Both Shepard and Liara flinched, blinking away the haze. Shepard instantly felt guilty. Her grip loosened from Liara's shoulder, a flush rushing to her cheeks. She stepped back abruptly and Liara followed suit, pressing a palm to her forehead in embarrassment. If possible, her face seemed to be a darker shade of blue. 

"Are you spying on us, Joker?" Shepard said sharply in her sudden discomfort. "No, ma'am. Just knew you were on the ship and thought I'd pass the message on," Joker confirmed, sounding a little confused by the insinuation. 

Shepard hurried to shut down her feelings of affection, avoiding looking at Liara. This was probably important. Maybe a solution to their current problem. But her heart was still beating so fast, even after the shattered moment.

"The captain said to meet him at Flux, that club down in the Wards," Joker explained.

"You should probably go meet with him," Liara said. She sounded exasperated, her eyes wide; but relieved.

Shepard's eyebrows raised, her tension draining away. She didn't feel so despondent after receiving this information. Captain Anderson might know a way to fix this. She was already turning towards the bridge to exit the ship, an urgency in her step. Liara watched her go, admiring the way she walked. So hellbent, valiant, even when she didn't like to see herself as the hero.

Even when swept again into the whirlwind of the mission, Shepard paused for a split second to turn her head, and give Liara a small smile. Her eyes were bright again. There would be more chances: things wouldn't be fleeting for long. They would have time to understand each other. As long as Shepard had spirit, the Normandy would be hers, the universe would have hope; and Liara would be there, following her to the darkest corners of the galaxy.


End file.
